Aráchnē
by Griever11
Summary: "If you think this is a good surprise, just wait until you see what I have in store for you tonight." Season 4, Halloween.


I hope everyone's had a fabulous Halloween!

* * *

His phone is dead, his baggage missing and this leaves Richard Castle in one of the worst moods he's ever been in. His flight from Washington D.C had been delayed and after an hour in the airport watching the rotating luggage carousel, he's notified that unfortunately his bag is currently en route to Florida.

Worst. Trip. Ever.

He stalks to the exit, elbowing his way past the throng of people milling about the taxi stand and sighs when he remembers he can't actually call his car service because he doesn't have a phone. He backtracks, drags his feet to the end of line and blinks at the crowd with tired eyes.

It's Halloween, by far his favorite holiday after Christmas, and due to some bungle by Black Pawn's junior secretary, he'd been stuck in corporate meetings in D.C. for the better part of the week. So now, on October 31, instead of being at his loft, greeting his guests in his state of the art glow-in-the-dark zombie space cowboy outfit, he's waiting for a cab to take him back to a woefully undecorated apartment.

He waits for fifteen minutes, his mood darkening as time ticks by, the chill in the air around him doing nothing to soothe the angry heat radiating from his skin. Eventually, he manages to slide into a taxi, barking his address at the driver as he slams the door shut. The cabbie seems to sense his urgency and speeds off, weaving in and out of traffic with practiced ease.

The cab screeches to a halt after a while, Castle lurching forward with an undignified grunt, straining against the seat belt across his chest. He glares at the cab driver who in turn merely shrugs and points to the display on the dashboard.

Castle hands over a bunch of bills and exits, messenger bag swinging as he makes his way into his apartment building. The glass doors slide open and jealousy clouds his features as he takes in the sight before him.

If it were any other day, he'd be delighted. A family of four stands just inside the glass doors, Han Solo's hands clasped around Princess Leia's, a baby Wookie toddling around their feet. A rather disgruntled looking vampire shuffles out behind them, speaking into her cell phone as she toys with the fluttering ends of her cape.

Everyone is dressed up. Everyone, except him. Ugh.

He lets them pass with a curt nod, casts one last dark look at their retreating backs and makes his way to the elevator. He spends the ride up simmering, even though he knows he's being petty. It's not anyone's fault, really. He's an adult, work is important and Halloween - well, Halloween is just a child's holiday.

Only it _isn't._

Sighing, he readjusts the strap on his shoulder and tries to plan the rest of his night. It's still early for trick or treating, so if he can find some candy lying around (and he's sure he will), at least the children won't be disappointed when they come knocking. If he hurries, he'll have just enough time to decorate his entrance so when he opens the door the atmosphere is there. He won't have time to set up his light up costume, but Poe - he can still be Poe from two years ago.

The elevator dings and he steps out, only to feel his heart plummet, blood freezing as if someone had dunked ice water over him. He hears an ear-piercing shriek and his hairs stand on end-

Oh, wait-

That was him. _He_ screamed.

He stumbles backward, bag falling off his shoulder, legs like lead, refusing to cooperate as he swallows the temptation to scream again. The entire hallway leading up to his front door is bathed in blood, crimson streaking across the walls, dripping to pool on the floor.

A giant spider, the size of a small child is right _fucking_ there - in front of the elevator, staring at him with a million eyes, chewing on what looked like a disembodied hand. Blood shimmering over its glossy coat of hair.

Legs.

So many _hairy_ legs.

He gulps and shuts his eyes as he counts to ten. He chants to himself, _it's not real_ , over and over again - because how _can_ it be real? He releases an unsteady breath and cracks open an eyelid, hoping the spider had been part of his imagination, but no, it's still there, chewing mechanically at-

Mechanically?

He cocks his head, opening both eyes and takes a hesitant step forward, more curious now, not scared. Not scared at all.

Running a finger over the spider, the crippling fear dissipates as he realizes the spider is fake. He shakes his head in disbelief, of course, it's fake. He should have known that, God, spiders don't get that big - spiders don't eat _people._

"Castle?"

He yelps at the sudden noise, whirls around toward the voice and trips over one of the hairy legs. He lands unceremoniously next to the spider and his skin crawls at the slight contact, despite knowing the thing isn't real.

"Oh my God, Castle!"

Castle blinks, confused. The person holding her hand out to him is in a long floor length dress, bits of material falling from her forearms, long black hair hanging down past her waist - weird, but she sure looks a lot like Beckett.

"Castle...are you okay?"

And _sounds_ like Beckett.

"Beckett?"

"Castle, I'm so sorry, I know you said you don't like spiders, but I didn't think-"

"Wait, this-this was _you_?" he splutters as he takes her hand and stands up. "You...did this?"

A blush creeps up her extra pale cheeks, and she nods, eyebrows furrowing in worry. She waves a hand around and clears her throat. "You were so down about missing out on Halloween, and I thought maybe if you came home to a party, you'd feel better. I'm so sorry, I overstepped. I just-"

Castle interrupts her with a hug, an arm curling around her neck while the other bands across her back. He buries his face into her hair - wig, he realizes - and a rush of warm affection travels through him. She did this, his by-the-book, cop partner, drenched the hallway in blood and found a giant spider to scare him with. Oh, wow.

"Beckett," he whispers, pulling back a little, eyes misty from emotion, heart thudding in a rhythm that sounds like the bass beat of a love song. "Beckett you did all of this for me?"

She grins, wide mouthed and toothy and nods. "I had some help. The boys chipped in, as well as Alexis and your mother. They know how much you love Halloween - and well, they love _you_."

Her eyes flick up to his and he blinks at the tail end of her statement, wondering if she realizes what she's just said. He steps back, allowing her to leave his embrace. She doesn't go far, to his surprise. Instead, she snags his fingers in her own and tugs, pulling him towards his front door.

He marvels at how their fingers curl around each other, twining in an intricate weave. A phantom ring appears on both their ring fingers and he knows his imagination is charting a dangerous course but he can't believe she planned all of this, and she mentioned a _party_? Surely this means something. Not exactly marriage, a picket fence and 2.5 kids, but it has to mean _something_.

"If you tried to pull the hand out of the spider's mouth, baby spiders would have come crawling out," she teases as they arrive at his door, drawing him away from his fantasy and back into reality. He shivers at the thought, goosebumps forming on his skin as he shakes his head in disgust.

"C'mon, Castle. You're already late and it's your party."

She pushes his front door open and Castle stares, awestruck at what he sees. The entire loft is aglow, bathed in soft purple and blue hues from creepy lanterns strategically situated around the place.

Cobwebs hang over the top of nearly every surface, spiders dangling from the ends - ugh, he _really_ hates spiders - with menacing red eyes. A skeleton butler stands by the door serving a tray of drinks with eyeballs floating in the glasses. There's a zombie trying to climb out of his floor, a vampire's coffin leaning against one of the walls.

Plenty of people are milling about; a couple of witches, a few superheroes, and he notices a mad scientist having a rather heated argument with a half-turned werewolf. Music pumps through his surround sound speakers, loud enough to have fun with, but not too loud that it drowns out conversation. There are drinks of all sorts of colors on his kitchen counter, platters of grotesque looking food scattered on the tables in the loft.

"Kate," her name falls from his lips in a half whisper. "Kate, this is some surprise party."

He turns around and his palms curve around her waist, pulling her close. They don't usually do this, always careful to maintain a good distance between them, keeping well within the lines that define their platonic partnership. But tonight, tonight, he just wants to hold her.

"Thank you, Beckett. You don't know what this means to me." His hands squeeze her waist, eliciting a small gasp of surprise from her. "You didn't have to do this."

Leaning in, her hands come up to his face, fingernails sharp against the skin on his cheek. She leans in, so close he can smell the faint scent of cherries he'll forever associate with her, her chest pressing up to his and his heart hammers in his chest in anticipation.

Her lips, soft and supple, glance over the corner of his mouth, a puff of air against his skin as she steps away, a wicked glint in her eye.

She strides past him to join the festivities, her body swaying beneath the silky material of her dress. "If you think this is a good surprise," she says, pausing mid-step to tease him with a quick swipe of her tongue over her bottom lip and a scandalous wink.

"Just wait until you see what else I have in store for you tonight."

* * *

Prompt:  
you decide to go all-out decorating for Halloween while I'm at work, a notice would have been nice before I walked into a fake spider and cried because I thought it was real, thanks a lot.

Thank you Corny for your help with this! Hearts.

Twitter: estheryam  
Tumblr: griever11


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